


On the nature of flower viewing

by chr0matic



Category: Gintama
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Katsura is also there but only mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:20:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23898904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chr0matic/pseuds/chr0matic
Summary: On an afternoon in spring, beneath a flowering cherry, Gintoki shares a memory with his senior disciple.
Comments: 12
Kudos: 48





	On the nature of flower viewing

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Shōka Sonjuku Week 2020 for the prompt "Hanami", although I didn't manage to finish it in time. It's a Sonjuku AU in which Oboro ran away from the Naraku with Nobume. The Jōi3 are 16, Oboro is 19/20 and Nobume 7. Many thanks to [printfogey](https://archiveofourown.org/users/printfogey/pseuds/printfogey) and [plipdragon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/plipdragon) for helping me with their insightful comments and feedback 🥰🥰🥰

“Can you see it?”

“It wasn’t in the grass … it probably got caught in one of the tree branches.”

“My bamboo-copter … It’s gone now, isn’t it …”

Takasugi and Katsura were crawling on their hands and knees in the grass beneath a flowering cherry tree, trying to find Mukuro’s bamboo-copter. The little girl hung her head, seemingly already resigned to the loss of her toy.

“Don’t worry, Mukuro, we’ll find it.” Shōyō consoled her.

“There! I can see it! It’s gotten caught on that branch!” Takasugi exclaimed and made to climb the tree. “Zura, give me a lift!”

“Be careful, Shinsuke,” Shōyō warned, concern written on his face. “I don’t want you to fall and get hurt.”

Takasugi nodded gruffly, his cheeks dusted pink.

Gintoki and Oboro were watching the commotion from a picnic blanket beneath a different cherry a few metres away. The day was clear, the air balmy and the rays of the spring sun warmed their backs. Until a few moments ago, Oboro had busied himself with clearing away the leftovers and plates. Now, he looked a little forlorn, as if he didn’t quite know what to do with himself.

It had only been a few weeks since Oboro and Mukuro had suddenly showed up at Shōka Sonjuku in the dead of night. They were clearly on the run from something, but neither would speak of it. Most of the students were dying to know who they were and where they came from, discussing the topic in hushed voices during break and coming up with the wildest rumours. Gintoki had made a few attempts to get to know his senior disciple, but Oboro had only given short, vague answers, steering the conversation back to small talk as quickly as possible.

Nonetheless, as far as Gintoki was concerned, it didn’t matter where the newest members of Shōka Sonjuku came from (though it had definitely been a shock to learn that he wasn’t Shōyō’s first student after all). Shōyō seemed to know and trust them and that was enough for him.

Also, Oboro’s cooking tasted a lot better than Shōyō’s.

Gintoki stretched, suppressing a yawn, then rubbed his stomach. He had definitely eaten too much. Oboro wiped invisible dust motes off the picnic blanket, then smoothed down the fabric, his whole body rigid with tension.

Gintoki remembered a little boy wandering aimlessly on a battlefield with only corpses for company, hugging the blade he carried to his chest at night.

“You don’t seem to be enjoying yourself very much.” he said.

“What?”

“Just sayin’.”

Silence fell between them once again. Oboro watched the surroundings with frozen vigilance, his hands clenching the fabric of his hakama.

“Strange, isn’t it?” Gintoki said after a while, and noisily blew away a flower petal that had landed on the tip of his nose.

Oboro turned towards him, an unreadable expression on his face.

“We’re just sitting here, doing nothing, looking at flowers. What good is that gonna do?”

Gintoki let himself fall backwards, landing on his back, and folded his arms beneath his head.

“You know, when I was travelling with Shōyō, he kept pointing out things to me. Animals. Weirdly shaped trees and rock formations. And flowers.”

Oboro listened silently.

“Back then, I didn’t get it.” Gintoki continued, gaze fixed on the blue expanse above. “Looking at flowers? That’s fucking stupid. What kind of dumbass has the time to look at flowers when there’s eating to be done? Why would I care about flowers when I don’t know where I’ll sleep tonight?”

Oboro pressed his lips together and looked away, hunching his shoulders.

“But now … I think it’s not so bad. Flower-viewing, I mean. I still don’t know what all the fuss about the flowers is about. They’re pretty, I guess, but that’s about it. The food’s nice, though.” Gintoki’s gaze wandered to the others, his lips curving upwards. Takasugi had successfully retrieved the bamboo-copter and handed it to Mukuro. She excitedly clapped her hands, a smile lighting up her usually somber face. Shōyō, Katsura and Takasugi turned to look at each other, their joyful laughter floating through the spring air.

“We’re not the same”, Oboro said curtly.

“I never said that.” Gintoki rolled onto his side and looked up at him. “So what’s your opinion on flower-viewing? Think you’ll grow to like it?”

Oboro locked gazes with his junior disciple for a long moment. It was the first time that he had really met his eyes. Gintoki remained silent, waiting patiently for the other to speak. The branches of the cherry swayed gently in the breeze, and a rain of petals fluttered to the ground. Something shifted, and a tiny bit of tension melted away from Oboro, the lines of his body seeming softer now, less angular.

“I don’t know”, he said in a barely audible voice.

Then, he reached into one of the boxes with food and produced a cherry blossom rice cake. “It’s the last one.” He offered the confection to Gintoki, the ghost of a smile on his lips. “Don’t tell the others.”

Gintoki took it, returning the smile, and happily scarfed down the rice cake before they were rejoined by the others.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this, I'd be very happy if you could give me some feedback 💕 Talk to me about Gintama or TakaObo on twitter ([@lostedgelord](https://twitter.com/lostedgelord)) if you like!


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